2 seek GOP nomination for 102nd House District

In the 102nd District, Republican Russ Diamond looks to keep his seat in the State House of Representatives. But he will have to beat fellow Republican Tom Houtz in the primary election on April 26 before he can take on Jake Long, who’s running unopposed on the Democratic ticket.

The 102nd District includes the Cleona, Jonestown, Myerstown, and Richland boroughs, as well as Annville, Bethel, Cold Spring, Heidelberg, Jackson, Millcreek, North Lebanon, South Lebanon, Union and West Lebanon Townships.

Here’s a look at what they stand for on five of the issues facing Pennsylvania, as well as more on their backgrounds.

1: The 37-week budget gridlock is on many voters' minds. In the end, Gov. Wolf did not sign the state's $30 billion 2015-16 budget, instead allowing it to lapse into law in March. Wolf said the budget is unbalanced and the state will start the fiscal year with a deficit. It appears the budget battle will continue. During that impasse, schools, social service agencies, and others were forced to borrow money to stay open and to cut programs. What can be done to prevent this from happening again as negotiations for the 2016-17 budget start.

Houtz: First and foremost I think the budget process begins far too late in the fiscal year to allow for the proper leadership exchanges required to reach an agreement. If the governor releases his budget in February and the General Assembly holds hearings on it through March, why is it the leaders don't really engage each other and the administration until June? I think if the constitutional deadline of June 30th is missed, then it should trigger a salary freeze for the governor, his entire cabinet and all legislators. We can't allow schools and vulnerable citizens to suffer for months on end while administration heads and legislators are cashing pay checks. It's patently unfair. No more hostages will be made of seniors and children, if state agency heads and legislators went without pay, as well.

Diamond: The Governor needs to understand that he is working with a heavily Republican legislature acting in a manner that accurately represents the views of its constituents. We are his working partners in a co-equal branch of government, not his underlings. We put four different budgets on his desk this year. He refused to accept even the line items he asked for. In the end, his nine-month hostage taking charade netted him a final spending number that was less than what we first offered him last June. When he’s ready to accept reality, it will still be waiting for him.

2: Gov. Wolf is calling for restoring cuts to education made by his Republican predecessor Gov. Tom Corbett. What is your position on restoring education cuts and education funding, in general?

Houtz: First, I would not characterize the Corbett administration approach to education funding as "cuts." This is a fairly common misnomer floated by democratic legislators who don't want to acknowledge the funds that disappeared were federal stimulus dollars. The Corbett administration, to its credit, actually increased basic education funding each year. By all means, if the federal government wishes to restore the stimulus money to our state, we should use it for education. But that's not reality. The reality is we need to adequately fund education or suffer the consequences of increases in local property taxes. That cannot and will not happen if I'm elected.

Diamond: This question's premise is entirely false and has been repeatedly debunked. Gov. Corbett increased state spending on education in every one of the four years he was in office. What went away was the one-time federal stimulus money that every school in the state knew was one-time money, and which every school was advised to use with that fact in mind. Pennsylvania currently spends almost $2000 more per student overall than the national average, and more per-student overall than 40 other states. More money is not the answer; a wiser investment of the money we already spend is.

3: A property tax relief bill (SB76) that would eliminate school property taxes by increasing sales tax and income tax had bipartisan support but failed by one vote in the Senate last year. Do you support property tax reform? If so, how would it best be accomplished?

Houtz: I strongly support the elimination, not merely the reform of property taxes. SB 76, while a fiscally responsible approach, has not shown across the board funding levels to sustain our basic education requirements. It would take a constitutional amendment to truly eliminate property taxation. I'm in favor of such an amendment. We need to truly own our homes, free from the threat of losing it when we retire to fixed incomes. It's an unfair system, but I will be cautious not to swap it out for another form of broad based tax increase that might still result in a shortfall of funding, requiring property taxes getting increased on top of it. We need to eliminate the option entirely then move forward a tax model that can reach consensus.

Diamond: Property taxes should be eliminated because acquiring, possessing and defending property is a fundamental right guaranteed by the PA Constitution. We would be outraged if our rights to vote, worship, or speak freely were predicated on our ability to pay any particular tax, and we should be equally outraged that our property rights are. Full elimination will not generate enough votes in the legislature to become law, even though I am prime sponsor and co-sponsor of bills that would do so. The best we could do was HB504, which would offer a 40 percent school property tax reduction for the average homeowner. It currently awaits action in the Senate.

4: Do you support raising the minimum wage to at least $10? Why or why not?

Houtz: I support a tiered approach to raising the minimum wage. I think an incremental and economically measured system of raising it annually, based on indexed growth, remains the way to go. I don't think you encourage economic growth by government mandates on our job creators. I think New York and California will soon learn this unfortunate lesson. You don't need to be an economist to understand the threat of radically increasing the minimum wage in a slow growth economy.

Diamond: Absolutely not. Those who suggest doing so have a fundamental lack of understanding of economics. If minimum wage increases, prices of the products and services those workers produce will increase, which will ripple through the economy until we’re all back to square one. Everybody feels good for a little while, but there is no real growth as a result. The Commonwealth does not print the money, which is the root cause of inflation. The US Congress authorizes that with its constant increase of federal debt. Therefore, any demand for a minimum wage increase must be directed towards Washington, not Harrisburg.

5: Who do you endorse for president?

Houtz: While I am excited that PA will be relevant in a presidential primary for the first time in a very long time, I remain skeptical of our path forward to victory in November. To avoid the nightmare of victory for either Clinton or Sanders, our party must unite and rally behind a single candidate. The presidential race has become so contentious that it is turning voters off to the entire process; elections are meant to foster democracy, not suppress it. I will reserve my judgement until I hear what the candidates say when they visit our state. But we must, above all else, choose the candidate that wins back the White House.

Diamond: I will be voting for the Republican nominee in November.

Thomas Houtz(Photo: Submitted)

TOM HOUTZ

Residence: Jackson Township

Age: 40

Education: Ursinus College

Profession: Director of employee health and safety at Harrisburg Area Community College

Facebook: Houtz102

Russ Diamond(Photo: File)

RUSS DIAMOND

Hometown: Annville

Age: 52

Education: Northern Lebanon High School, Lebanon County Career and Technology Center

Profession: Representative of 102nd District and owner of Raintree Multimedia